Beware of Bitterness

In the Bible there was a man called Asaph. Asaph was a worship leader and songwriter. Psalms 50 and 73-83 are attributed to him – he wrote them and sung them. He was the Marty Sampson, Ruben Morgan, the Chris Tomlin or Graham Kendrick of his day. People looked up to him, he had a great reputation, was famous and respected.

But there was a point in his life when he wrote this – “Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.” (Psalm 73 1&2)

What led this man to come to a place where he almost lost everything he was – everything he believed.

Well – like many of us today he had an issue with the injustice, unfairness he saw in the world – bad people getting good things while good people suffer bad things. As a result he asks this question – “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalm 73 13&14)

And then, after a period in self examination he says this – “Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.” (Psalm 73:21)

The root of Asaph’s problem was bitterness – and bitterness had started a process in his life which took him to place where he almost checked out of the God life all together. Bitterness has the potential to destroy us – and it can do so without us ever realising the root of the problem.Psychologists tell us that bitterness is an emotional suicide. It effects out health, our wellbeing, and our relationships. It will prevent us for living in the abundance of life Jesus offers. It is like drinking poison while hoping the other person will die.

The Alcoholics Anonymous organization cites resentment as the number one offender, and one of the greatest threats to an alcoholic. Several of the Twelve Steps of AA involve identifying and dealing with resentment as part of the path toward recovery, including acknowledging one’s own role in resentment and praying for the person resented.

So what are the effects of bitterness -

IT CAN EFFECT OUR BODIES

• Physical consequences of bitterness are things such as headaches, ulcers, sleeplessness, heart-attacks, anxiety, fear, tension, depression.

• Bitterness may aggravate or even cause physical problems. It causes fatigue, backache, ulcers, headaches, and drains our vitality.

IT CAN EFFECT OUR EMOTIONS

• The mental consequences of bitterness are continued hypercritical attitudes. Nobody can do anything right. There is usually anger and resentment with things doesn’t go our way (and they often don’t).

IT INFLUENCES AND AFFECTS OTHER PEOPLE

• Bitterness spreads and infects others. They either catch the critical and grouching spirit from the bitter people, or they decide to avoid their company. And, of course, the rejection caused by the bitterness leads to the people concerned feeling even more bitter, and so the cycle continues.

So much then of what our medical experts, psychologist and life coaches say about bitterness – but in reality they are confirming what the Bible teaches and what people experience on a daily basis. One biblical writer, Paul, says this – “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Notice that Paul uses an interesting picture here – he refers to bitterness as – “a poisonous root”. The DNA of a root is to grow. We need to keep bitterness at bay – to watch and deal with it before it takes root in our lives. You know how difficult it is to deal with an established root especially the root of a tree – eventually only a tractor will pull it out – whereas if it is dealt with while it is a young shoot – it is relatively east to deal with.

And the solution and antibody to the disease of bitterness? – Forgiveness. It’s interesting that even Jesus own disciples struggled with this issue. For instance we read of Peter – “Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” (Matthew 18:21-23) Why? – because not to forgive means fostering bitterness – and we cannot be bitter and know success in life. Nor can we live in bitterness and live the God life at the same time – for the heart of God is always to forgive. So if bitterness is the biggest enemy of winning in life – forgiveness is the greatest antidote.

But for many of us forgiveness does not come easy. We will look at this in a little more detail in a later post – but for the moment – beware of bitterness!

Steve Taylor